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Austin Grossman is a writer for Arkane's Dishonored which releases this week. He drew inspiration from Valve's equally mute protagonist Gordon Freeman in what not to do with a silent lead.

He 'hates' what Valve do with Freeman, finding it "incredibly awkward and really creepy." Valve treat him as an empty vessel as people talk "at him, about him and sometimes even for him."

Gordon Freeman just happens to be smack in the middle of all that's going on. Admitting bias, Grossman says Dishonored is much more 'viscerally gripping' for Corvo.

“I hate what Valve does with the silent protagonist," declared Austin Grossman to Kotaku, making sure to clarify he speaks only for himself and not all of Arkane. Dishonored releases this week on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. So far the critical reception has been stellar with it easily competing with XCOM: Enemy Unknown for this week's spotlight.

It's the lack of Freeman's personal anchor and interest to the world of Half-Life that's the problem. “I think you get that involvement because the character has personal relationships with people from the beginning. And it’s very clear that people have f*cked with you in a very personal way.”

"It’s people talking at him, about him and sometimes even for him. He just happens to be in the middle of this whole thing,” he continued. "Dishonored grips you much more viscerally, more emotionally.” Even those trying to make a silent living can't catch a break it seems. Surely Gordon Freeman and Corvo's lives are just too incompatible to be compared?